Freaky Flickers: Quest for the Golden Flicker
Okay, stay with us here. Freaky Flickers: The Movie was a film created in 2008 by... *sigh* I don't know, some D-list studio nobody's ever heard of. Of course, it never saw the light of day, but at least we've got a trailer and some images to prove that, yes, this abomination does, in fact, exist somewhere. Premise Found on the official Freaky Flickers blog: "Meet the Freaky Flickers, tiny plastic marvels created by inventor and scientist Doc Flick by accident in his laboratory. Each imbued with unique personalities and abilities they quickly made themselves useful around Doc’s lab until soon they were all like a family. But all is not well at Casa de Flick, as Doc has fallen way behind on the mortgage and the bank is literally beating down his door, demanding their due. Now Aargh the Pirate, leader of the Freaky Flickers, has organized his most trusted ‘matees’ to join him in search of the rarest Flicker of them all; The Golden Flicker, to help pay off Doc’s debt. Join the Flickers as they adventure far and wide searching for the fabled Golden Flicker; from the edge of the world to an uncharted island, through the gullet of a whale and even into outer-space! No distance is too far, no joke too silly and no adventure too great for this wacky, fun-loving and downright freaky bunch. Freaky Flickers: Quest for the Golden Flicker is an action packed adventure visualized in computer animation, but inspired by such cartoon legends as Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, promising fun for the entire family!" Development Apparently, it was all animated by one person. It shows. Production history The project began in 2005 when Howe began work on a possible television series tying in with the toys; the project later developed into a planned 90-minute feature film. According to Howe, it was lined up for distribution to at least 2,800 cinemas by MGM; Howe has described such a wide release as "unique" for a film written, directed and animated by one person on a modest budget (around $250,000) and identified the film as a "landmark". Howe says that on 9 June 2009, while he was in bed for the afternoon after working at night, his business associate Peter Gantner (one of the creators of the original toy line) forced his way into Howe's home and took away the animation equipment and project backups. Following this incident, Howe concludes that "the odds of Freaky Flickers: The Movie ever seeing the light of day are near zero". Footage of the film was released online during production. It was heavily criticised by animation historian Jerry Beck, who has described the proposed film as a "mess" and upon learning of its cancellation, commented "MGM was going to release this crap? Good riddance to bad rubbish". How Cary Howe Got Ripped Off After he was finished working on the film, writer/director/animator Cary Howe had this to say about his producing partners: "This is the sad tale of how a landmark film was born and died. Late 2005 I began early tests for a possible TV series based on the Freaky Flickers toyline. By February 2009 the project had expanded to a 90 minute theatrical feature. We had a 2,800+ theater release with MGM and it seemed like nothing could stop us. “On 6/9/09 I finished my night’s work at 12 noon. Exhausted I wished my “friend” David Kann good night/afternoon and went to bed leaving him editing in my living room. I put in ear plugs to drown out the noise of the render boxes in the next room and fell asleep. I awoke just before 8pm to a silent dark empty house. Mr. Kann and the equipment were gone as were the external hard drives with the project back ups. While I slept, my business associate Peter Gantner… took everything. What made the Freaky Flickers film so unique is that it was written, directed, modeled, animated and rendered by one person with a final budget of around 250K. A first for a major theatrical release. As I write this the film is in the hands of the lawyers but the odds of it ever seeing the light of day are near zero. I entered the business in 1979 and after my experience with Freaky Flickers I can’t see myself ever making another film. On 6/9/09 not only did a film die but a career and a hundred plus unmade films passed." The Trailer This is all anyone got to see of Freaky Flickers: The Movie, thank the heavens. Shorts While several pieces of footage were available online, the only ones I could salvage were the two on the Freaky Flickers Flickr account. Where's My Whistle? In this short, Portker is going on about the sea while Kung Poo is visibly seasick. For no reason whatsoever, Portker wonders where his whistle is. Kung Poo immediately coughs it up, prompting Portker to celebrate. Having enough of the insanity, Kung Poo hops off somewhere else. He can still be heard after the fade to black. This short is notable for having higher-quality animation than the other or the trailer, although that really isn't saying much. Flickers Go Green This short has Doc Flick and Aargh trying to show how to save the environment, but the most they can come up with are basic things like "turn off the computer monitor when you're done with it" and "always recycle," and then concluding with the words, "if toys can save the environment, so can you!" Gallery File:Portker.jpg File:Doc_Flick.png File:Dark_Force.jpg File:Kung_Poo.jpg File:Joe_Goggles.jpg File:Aargh.jpg File:Cheeky.jpg File:MT_Brain.jpg File:Freaky-flickers-the-movie-61.png File:Freaky-flickers-test2.png File:Freaky-flickers-doc-6in.png File:Freaky-flickers-bship-6in.png File:Long_John.png Trivia *The way Cary Howe goes on about it, he almost makes the film sound like the best thing ever. Of course, we all know better. *Despite never actually being released, the film has made the TV Tropes So Bad, It's Horrible page under Western Animation. *Who would actually think that this was on-par with the likes of Tex Avery or Chuck Jones? I mean, really. Category:Franchise